Campaign contributions

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state house in South Dakota in past years and the cumulative amount of dollars raised in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.[1]

Year

Number of candidates

Total contributions

2008

181

$1,474,166

2006

157

$1,269,101

2004

142

$927,656

2002

140

$932,931

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

7 incumbents (14.5%) face no competition in the November 2 general election and are thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

4 Democratic incumbents face no November challenger.

3 GOP incumbents face no November challenger.

Primary challenges

Only 6 incumbents (12%) faced competition in the June 8 primary. All 6 incumbents who faced challengers, 2 Democrats and 4 Republicans, won their primaries:

Retiring incumbents

22 incumbent representatives are not running for re-election, while 48 incumbents (68.5%) ran for re-election. Of the 22 incumbents who are not running for re-election, 4 are Democrat and 18 are Republican.

Note: Incumbent R. Blake Curd did not seek reelection, although he was eligible to do so under South Dakota's term limits, but instead ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing in the primary.
November 2 General election candidates:

Note: Incumbent Bill Van Gerpen did not seek reelection, although he was eligible to do so under South Dakota's term limits.
Note: Incumbent J.E. Putnam is not eligible to seek reelection under South Dakota's term limits.